ZIMBABWE’S president vowed yesterday to return the country’s crippled economy to a socialist command system, telling businesses opposed to the move to ”pack up and go”.
Robert Mugabe said his government would strictly enforce the price freeze on basic foods imposed last week and threatened to seize any companies that shut down because the new prices made their production unprofitable.
”Let no one on this front expect mercy,” an angry Mr Mugabe said. ”The state will take over any businesses that are closed. We will reorganise them with workers, and at last that socialism we wanted can start again.”
”Those tired of doing business here can pack up and go,” he said. Claims that market-driven economic principles should not be tampered with were ”absolute nonsense”.
Zimbabwe dropped its socialist economic policies a decade after it gained independence in 1980. It embraced IMF and World Bank economic reforms. In recent years, rampant corruption, huge budget deficits and mismanagement have dragged the economy down, with hyper-inflation, 60% unemployment and a desperate shortage of hard currency.
Mr Mugabe’s war veterans have stormed shops to ensure they keep to state price controls.
”We’ve heard this rhetoric before, but this time I think it is more serious,” said a white business owner. ”The war veterans have destroyed large scale farming. Now they want to destroy industry.”
”He can call it socialism, but we know it will be shortages and long queues,” said a black worker, who did not want to be named. ”Last week we could not afford bread. This week we cannot get bread.”
Trying to regain support ahead of the presidential elections early next year, Mr Mugabe last Friday ordered price cuts of between 5% and 20% on maize meal, bread, meat, vegetable and cooking oil, milk, salt and soap.
Yesterday the supermarket shelves were bare for all the price-controlled items. Bakeries said they were losing money at the set prices, and reduced deliveries of bread.
A Harare bakery chain put 200 of its workers on shorter working hours as production was cut.
Adding to Zimbabwe’s woes is the decision by South Africa – whose president opposes Mr Mugabe’s policies – to expel 20_000 Zimbabweans working there as farm labourers. The repatriations start today. – The Guardian